President's Message

Dear Maryland ACC Members,

A longstanding priority of our chapter has been to reduce the burden of physician non-compete agreements. Such restrictions may be harmful to patients, disrupt continuity of care, and undermine the physician-patient relationship.
 

Two years ago, Maryland ACC members played a critical role promoting legislation that significantly limited the use of non-compete agreements in physician employment contracts in our state. While that achievement represented meaningful progress, even limited non-compete provisions continue to create challenges for employed cardiovascular professionals and the patients they serve.
 

We are therefore encouraged by the recent decision by MedStar to eliminate enforcement of all non-compete agreements for all of their employed physicians. We commend the cardiovascular professionals and other advocates within MedStar who helped bring about this change. We applaud MedStar for their commitment to improving the practice environment for clinicians and the welfare of their patients.
 

This decision demonstrates that health systems can support physician well-being, professional growth, and patient access to care while maintaining strong and successful organizations. We hope that other health systems and large physician groups throughout Maryland will follow MedStar's example. We will continue to work with MedChi and state leaders to advocate for further elimination of physician non-compete agreements in Maryland.
 

To everyone who has championed this issue over many years, thank you for your persistence and advocacy. Together, we have made meaningful progress, and we remain committed to advancing policies that strengthen patient care and support physicians throughout Maryland. We will keep our members informed as this effort moves forward.

Sammy Zakaria, MD, FACC

President, Maryland Chapter ACC

Sriram Padmanabhan, MD, FACC

President-elect, Maryland Chapter ACC

Stanley Liu, MD, FACC

Advocacy Committee Chair, Maryland Chapter ACC